Easter Sunday at Shannon - More Warplanes, More Suffering

Sun, 16/04/2017 - 16:40 by shannonwatch

Its great that so many of us here in Ireland can enjoy Easter. Not so for many people across the Middle East at present. Over 100 people died yesterday in a terrorist attack on a convoy of busses trying to evacuate civilians from two towns held by the Syrian Government near Aleppo. The victims were mainly women and children and many were injured people in the process of being transferred to hospitals in Aleppo. The rebels who launched this suicide attack are most likely from one of the rebel groups supported and armed by the US and Turkey. We are unlikely to hear statements condemning this attack from US President Trump, or callS for a UN Security Council investigation.

We in Ireland are also supporting these dreadful wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. Today at Shannon, yes on Easter Sunday, at 1.30 pm there were two Omni Air International aircraft, on contract to the US military. One was on its way from the US to the Middle East and the other on its way from the Middle East to the US. One of the Omni planes, N207AX has been in Guantanamo in the past few days; the other, N225AX has had recent landings at Lakenheath RAF base UK, Forth Wort AF Base US, Biggs AF Base US, Kuwait and Al Dhafra Air Base, Abu Dabhi, from where it came before landing at Shannon today.

Each of these aircraft is capable of carrying up to 300 armed US troops.

We can only hope that all the innocent people who died in the terrorist attack near Aleppo rest in peace, and that the loved ones they have left behind find some peace somewhere, some day soon. Right now we are doing nothing to make that possible.